Fundraising

Either we know where the money is going to be used, and then we can participate in the event, or we can take charge of handling the finances so it can be given to the project or country for whom it is designated.

However, there are certain cases where it doesn’t matter where the money goes, where our job is to liberate sentient beings from the lower realms and even from lower nirvana by spreading the Dharma. In those cases it’s OK, even if we don’t see where the money is going. The other groups can organize the event and we are given the opportunity to spread the Dharma.

A request to those whose continuum possesses the wealth of pure superior intent to benefit others and who have the fortune of courage for extensive generosity:

At the time when the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen built the monastery of Samye in Tibet, there were different incidents. For example, it often happened that what had been built during the day would be destroyed by spirits during the night. So the great master Padmasambhava, following an invitation, came from India, the land of the superiors, to Samye, where he subdued the spirits and turned their minds towards the Dharma, and they are now known as the 12 protector guardians of Tibet. This had a great impact on the development of Tibet, because they remained in the Himalayan region and protected the spreading of the Buddha Dharma and the holders of the Dharma in Tibet.

The great masters and king of Tibet built many temples, monasteries, and so forth in the more important and significant places of Tibet. The realized scholars of Nalanda Monastery in the holy land of India and the great translators of Tibet translated the source for the happiness of migrators, the jewel of the teachings of the Buddha, and the teachings of the great siddhas, such as Nagarjuna, Asanga, and so forth, into Tibetan. The glorious Atisha, the main one among the learned and realized, stayed in Tibet for many years.

The Tibetan people guarded the Dharma by not focusing only on increasing material wealth and by not allowing other religions to enter from the outside. In this way, not only did no bad views develop in Tibet, but everyone was attracted or devoted to the Buddha Dharma. In the monasteries they subdued their continuum with the training in morality and practiced listening, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddha Dharma. Realizing in this way the grounds and paths prescribed by the Buddha, beings as innumerable as the stars in the sky attained liberation and enlightenment. Tibet became a holy place, as its earth was blessed by the holy Dharma, and the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug, spread. Up to this day, innumerable learned and realized lamas come from these lineages.

Later, when red communist Mao became the leader of the Chinese people and occupied Tibet, they completely destroyed many monasteries, where the Dharma is held, and imprisoned many Dharma practitioners, such as lamas, trulkus, geshes, and lay practitioners. The Tibetan people experienced many years of hell on earth with infinite sufferings.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is the sole source of happiness not only for Tibetans but for all migrators, had to go into exile. However, His Holiness has traveled to many countries, explaining the holy teaching of our teacher (Buddha Shakyamuni) in an extremely clear, extensive, and profound manner, which is related to the human way of living on a daily basis. Thus, explaining the purpose of human life brought much happiness and peace. As such, his life and work are beyond words.

It is due to the loving kindness of His Holiness’s body, speech, and mind that in these days the lamp of Dharma light continues to shine in many foreign countries where before there was only the darkness of ignorance. All of this is due principally to the kindness of His Holiness, which one can observe directly. Due to this, every year many thousands of people in many countries are able to follow the Buddhist path to enlightenment, as well as bring peace and happiness in their hearts. In such a way, they are able to make their precious lives meaningful. All of the above mentions are solely due to the kindness of the great master Padmasambhava.

This place, which is called Maratika, is greatly blessed, as the great master Padmasambhava meditated here on Amitayus (the long life deity) and actualized the state of deathlessness (the siddhi of immortal life). Apart from other lamas, the great Kyabje Trulshig Rinpoche does long life retreat every year here for His Holiness’s long life, which also greatly blesses the place. Especially, according to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, due to this accumulation of white virtue, just through seeing, hearing, remembering, and touching this place, the two obscurations of beings will quickly be purified, one will be looked after by the all-knowing one (the great master Padmasambhava) from Urgyen, and easily attain the state of omniscience. This holy place has many more infinite blessings than just explained, and every sick and afflicted being should go there.

The Lama Ven. Ngawang Chophel Gyatso, in his lifetime, did many retreats and practices, listening and contemplating in this place. For seven days he practiced generosity and so forth of his body to many animals, following what Buddha himself did in the past. Ngawang Chophel was the student of Lawudo Lama, Kunsang Yeshe, who was said to be me in my previous life. At the time of Lama Kunsang Yeshe's passing, during the time of the dissolution of the elements, the two were conversing with each other. After the transference, Lama Ngawang Chophel went to Tibet to consult with a few qualified venerable lamas, primarily with Kyabje Trulshig Rinpoche, and asked them for observations. They all agreed strongly that I was the first reincarnation of Lawudo Lama, Kunsang Yeshe. All of this happened due to the great efforts of Lama Ngawang Chophel.

Taking great difficulties upon himself, Lama Ngawang Chophel built a monastery there. Now the son of Lama Ngawang Chophel, Lama Karma-la, has great plans to build a hospital, guesthouse, school, and monastery for the benefit of the Dharma and migrators. Since there is no doubt that this will greatly benefit the teachings and migrators, I request you to kindly give donations. All the kind benefactors will permanently be mentioned in the prayers of their Sangha.

With many thanks and prayers

Labeled incarnated name Thubten Zopa
(Lawudo Lama) 

To my dear brothers and sisters, who are brave and good-hearted, concerned not only for yourselves, but who want to see the world happy and peaceful; then, besides this world, who are concerned for the peace of all the countless living beings; and who want to offer service, I have an extremely important request for you.

First, I will mention the background of this request. Around Lhasa, there are three great monasteries: Sera, Ganden, and Drepung, each of which has many thousands of monks. These are the main places of learning for the Dharma, for learning the complete extensive teachings of the Buddha, the philosophy of Buddhism, both sutra and tantra. In our present time, there came to be a very highly realized yogi named Tehor Kyorpon Rinpoche, who was a great scholar from Drepung. After he took his examination to become a lharampa geshe, which is like earning a doctorate from a University, he left for the mountains to meditate. He went to one very high mountain near Lhasa to look for a cave, carrying only the few possessions of a monk, the robes, etc., which are needed according to the practice of Vinaya and the Lamrim Chenmo, Lama Tsongkhapa’s great commentary on the graduated stages of the path, the heart of the 84,000 teachings of the Buddha.

A Buddhist meditator is an inner scientist, a scientist of the mind. In this way, Tehor Rinpoche meditated like a scientist, experimenting. He studied for all those years, and generated vast understanding of the depths of Buddhism. Then he tried to achieve the meaning of the path by generating the realizations of the stages of the path in his mental continuum. His disciples, all geshes, also completed the extensive study program in the monasteries. Some of them also came to live an ascetic life in the mountains around where he was, although with quite some distance between them, in order to actualize the path to enlightenment.

When Tibet was taken over by Communist China in 1959, Rinpoche escaped from Tibet. He lived in Dalhousie, near Dharamsala. There were many Tibetans in the Tibetan settlement where he was – lay people, and also monks from other monasteries, such as the lower and upper Tantric colleges, and so forth. Tehor Kyorpon Rinpoche was guiding them and started a group of ascetic monks – geshes. He individually examined and accepted each one. In this group, there was also a great meditator, Geshe Jampa Wangdu, who had vast success actualizing the lamrim, guru devotion, the three principal paths, calm abiding, and also the generation and completion stage realizations, such as the clear light and the illusory body – all these stages of the path.

Geshe Jampa Wangdu practiced lamrim and achieved shiné, calm abiding, at this place. Before he passed away, I took some teachings from him on the pill retreat known as “taking the essence,” (chu len), so he is one of my gurus. There have also been others who achieved calm abiding there. I don’t know many stories about all the other meditators, but they are all very serious practitioners.

Like this, there have been extremely successful meditators produced from that community, who have reached very high levels of the tantric path. Tehor Kyorpon Rinpoche was, initially, the great yogi who led the group. There was one incarnate lama among that group, one lama who was the chief disciple of that great yogi. After Tehor Rinpoche passed away, this lama was given the responsibility to develop and sustain the community. There is still a group of meditators that continues, even up to now, but the land they are using, which is in Kangra, belongs to some monks from another tradition. They recently asked for the land back and have given the meditators a deadline by which they must either vacate the land or buy it.

These meditators are the real thing, serious practitioners living an ascetic life and experimenting on the path. They have received 300,000 rupees (US $6700) from the Tibetan Government. The Tibetan Government also sent out a letter requesting help from the Tibetan community, but that letter doesn’t really explain the importance of this group and what they are doing, meditating and attaining the path – the common lamrim and the uncommon lamrim, the tantric path. This is the most important thing that is needed in the world. Each meditator who attains the path will bring so much peace and happiness to this world. Each of them becomes more precious than the whole sky filled with wish-granting jewels. You can see how important the need is. If you look at how much suffering there is in the world: all the war, terrorism, famine, torture, dangers from the elements, so many people dying everywhere from disease – millions and billions dying of cancer (how many people are dying of cancer right now?), AIDS, etc., you can see how important meditation is for the world.

We need spiritual guides who have experience of the path. This is so rare. It is so important, in the world, to receive teachings from someone with experience. This is the best model, the most inspiring thing for the people of the world to achieve enlightenment.

Also, they live according to the Vinaya. They are preserving the Vinaya practice shi sum, the three foundations – Sojong, Abiding in the Summer Retreat (yarne), and Releasing the Retreat (gakye). Living in pure Vinaya is the basis for attaining the path of liberation and enlightenment. Whether or not the teaching of Buddha can be said to exist in a country is defined by whether or not these pure Vinaya practices are being performed. Vinaya is protecting oneself, disciplining one’s own three doors from the obstacles which interfere with being able to achieve liberation – freedom forever from the ocean of samsaric sufferings. It is the spiritual discipline which brings a person to liberation and to enlightenment.

They still need approximately US $9,000 to buy the land. In addition to that, they also need around US $2,500 to build a small temple where they can gather and do their practice, and to purchase a few other helpful items.

From the depths of my heart, I thank anyone who can help with this very much. This is definitely helping with world peace. Of course, there is no question that anyone from this group who has already actualized bodhicitta is a holy being; and then there are all those who will actualize bodhicitta, and will become holy beings that bring incredible peace and happiness to this world. This is a great blessing for the whole world.

With much appreciation,

Thubten Zopa, who bears the name of “Lama”